Thorburn: Despite debacles it's too soon to fire CU Buffs' Jon Embree

An irate caller asked Neill Woelk the question one night while the former Camera sports columnist was working on the desk.

The woman didn't actually pose it quite that nicely.

Woelk explained that a small newspaper staff can't be omnipresent. With the Buffs, Broncos and so many Boulder County prep events going on, everyone in the local sports world isn't going to get the same level of coverage all the time.

About four years later, Neill called the disgruntled reader back:

"How do you like our prep swimming coverage this season?"

Huh?

"Our prep swimming coverage? How are we doing this season, you were upset with it in the past."

Just as Woelk had assumed, the only reason she had been determined to berate whomever picked up the phone that night was because her daughter or son -- now long graduated -- wasn't covered as much as the family had hoped for their scrapbook.

The story reminds me of the response to a column I wrote about two years ago when Colorado fired Hawk-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and was in the market for a new football coach.

My suggestion: Take a serious look at Brady Hoke and consider making the San Diego State coach an offer he couldn't refuse.

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The guy had an amazing history of turning downtrodden programs into 10-game winners quickly. And Hoke was already familiar with recruiting in Southern California, which would come in handy as the Buffs transitioned to the Pac-12.

I received a number of emails and even a hand-written letter from CU fanatics who were upset by my indecent proposal. Two great ex-Buffs quarterbacks invited me on their radio show to publicly mock my advocacy of Hoke.

They were all bothered that I was writing about an outsider and not beating the drum for a member of their beloved CU family.

Clearly, landing Hoke would have been a long shot anyway. If contacted by the Buffs, he probably would have said no thanks and waited for Michigan to call.

The alumni, fan base and fraternity of former players also made it crystal clear to athletic director Mike Bohn what the next head coach needed to be:

A CU man.

Someone who understands the pride and tradition of the program and the unique challenges of building a winner in Boulder.

So not quite two years later, I'm writing the not-so silent majority back to remind you that your wish was granted.

You wanted Jon Embree, Eric Bieniemy, Brian Cabral or Bill McCartney.

You got three of the four. And the legendary Coach Mac has the other Buffs' backs.

We can all agree that the first 21 games of this era have been a fiasco.

After CU's humiliating 70-14 loss at No. 2 Oregon on Saturday at Autzen Stadium, Embree's record is an inglorious 4-17.

The Buffs (1-7, 1-4) allowed Chip Kelly and Co. to rack up 447 yards and 22 first downs in the first half before the Ducks were called off.

CU trailed 14-0 before the offense's first snap, but Jordan Webb and the boys didn't exactly respond to the adversity with zero points, five first downs and 104 yards at the break.

Oregon led 56-0 at the intermission. The final numbers after an extended garbage time -- Oregon 618 yards (439 rushing), CU 240 yards (90 passing).

On one play that summed up the afternoon, the Buffs were flagged for three penalties (holding, a personal foul and a chop block). Fortunately, the Ducks could only accept one.

This was the third consecutive conference game CU has allowed 50 or more points. The program is still light years away from competing with the contenders in the Pac-12.

It feels like CU football is on life-support right now.

However, it's still way too early to pull the plug on Embree.

CU's second-year head coach is an honest man and he says there is progress to see when looking really, really hard at the young team on film and in practice.

Over the last four games, including three at Folsom Field, the Buffs need to show their supporters and critics dramatic progress on the scoreboard.

That means competing with Stanford and Arizona, at least for a half. The Fresno State, USC and Oregon games were over in the first quarter (CU was outscored a combined 82-3 in the frame vs. the past three opponents).

That means finding a way to beat Washington and Utah at home. Following up a 3-10 season with a 1-11 season is not progress, no matter how many freshmen are playing.

That means holding assistant coaches accountable and making changes if anyone on the staff isn't pulling his weight.

That means finding a starting quarterback who can lead the program out of the abyss. Either choose a No. 1 between Webb, Nick Hirschman and Connor Wood or eliminate them from consideration and turn the offense over to a talented freshman in 2013.

That means switching to a modern spread offense entering spring drills. This "pro-set" scheme isn't working against the speed CU faces in the Pac-12.

One last question: Why don't you cover more Buffs basketball? Looking forward to doing just that.

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